April 3, 2012, SC DHEC SIP Amendment

Attachment C ‐ South Carolina State Register Notice of Intent to

Revise the SIP, February 24, 2012

SC DHEC SIP Amendment 

April 3, 2012

Attachment C 

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SC DHEC SIP Amendment 

April 3, 2012

Attachment C 

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NOTICES 9 

South Carolina State Register Vol. 36, Issue 2 

February 24, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL 

NOTICE OF GENERAL PUBLIC INTEREST 

NOTICE TO AMEND AIR QUALITY STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 

Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Sections 48-1-10 et seq. 

South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan: 

The Department of Health and Environmental Control (Department) proposes to amend the South Carolina Air 

Quality Implementation Plan, also known as the State Implementation Plan, or SIP. Interested persons are 

invited to present their views in writing to Alan M. Hancock, Division of Air Assessment, Innovations and 

Regulation, Bureau of Air Quality, 2600 Bull St., Columbia, SC 29201. Comments may also be submitted by 

email to hancocam@dhec.sc.gov or by facsimile at (803) 898-4487. To be considered, comments must be 

received no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 26, 2012, the close of the comment period. The Department is also 

providing the public with the opportunity to request a public hearing on the proposed SIP amendment. The 

Department has scheduled a public hearing for April 2, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., in the Wallace Room (3141), 

Sims-Aycock Building, 2600 Bull St., Columbia, SC. The public is invited to attend. However, pursuant to 40 

C.F.R. Section 51.102 (2011), if the Department does not receive a request for a public hearing by the close of 

the comment period (March 26, 2012), the Department will cancel the hearing. If the Department cancels the 

public hearing, then the Department will notify the public at least one week prior to the scheduled hearing on 

the SIP Public Hearings webpage at: http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/baq/RegulationSIPManagement/public_hearings.asp. Interested parties are also encouraged to contact Alan M. Hancock at 

(803) 898-4139 or hancocam@dhec.sc.gov for more information or to determine if the Department has 

cancelled the public hearing. 

Synopsis: 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently informed the Department of the need 

to address two matters before it can approve certain previously submitted SIP amendments. First, the EPA is 

requiring public notice of a clarification letter that the Department submitted to the EPA on November 3, 

2009, to address one element of the “infrastructure” SIPs required under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 

110(a)(1) and (2) (42 U.S.C. Section 7410 (2010)) for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 microns 

and smaller) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These infrastructure SIPs, provide for the 

implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS. On March 14, 2008, the Department submitted 

the infrastructure SIP for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS to the EPA. On September 18, 2009, the Department 

submitted the infrastructure SIP for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS to the EPA. On September 24, 2009, the EPA 

submitted a letter to the Department stating that it had no comments on the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 infrastructure 

SIPs. Following further discussions with the EPA, the Department submitted the aforementioned letter to the 

EPA on November 3, 2009. Based on the EPA memorandum entitled Emergency Episode Plan Requirements, 

dated March 24, 2008, this letter certified that the Department is not required to adopt an emergency episode 

plan for PM2.5 because no area of South Carolina has exceeded 140μg/m3

, which is the threshold for such a 

plan. In accordance with CAA Section 110(k), in order to act on the Department’s infrastructure SIP 

amendments addressing the requirements of CAA Section 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 

NAAQS, the EPA is requiring that the Department provide the public with the ability to comment on this 

certification. 

Second, the EPA is requiring states to address Section 128 of the CAA (42 U.S.C. Section 7428 (2010)) by 

amending SIPs to include conflict of interest provisions for state boards that oversee CAA permits and 

enforcement orders. The EPA has made this request based on comments that it has received on other states’ 

SIP submittals. To address this request, the Department is proposing that the Ethics, Government 

Accountability and Campaign Reform Act of 1991 (S.C. Code Ann. Section 8-13-700 et seq. (2011)) meets the 

requirements of Section 128. 

SC DHEC SIP Amendment 

April 3, 2012

Attachment C 

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